What a Day!

Ahhhhh! That's the sound of a tired lady, who is ready to put her feet up. But, it's been such a productive day, and it's a happy sigh.

Pumpkin cupcakes fresh from the oven.
Tomorrow, I'll top them with a
cream cheese maple syrup frosting.

When I started this post this morning, the title was, "Mmmmm ... Pumpkin." That inspiration was from the delightful pumpkin cupcakes baking in the oven at the time. The smell was intoxicating. So much so, that pumpkin inspired my planning menu for the week, and I am so incredibly excited!

Topping the list is pumpkin gnocchi with a sage butter sauce (that will be dinner Sunday!). The gnocchi are in the freezer, along with a batch of ricotta gnocchi. I figured, if I was rolling gnocchi, why not do them all and have them ready? The freezer is full. We probably have enough for six dinners worth -- maybe more. Yay!

To get the week(end) started, I also made stock, pie crust, and apple sauce and tonight's dinner (the last meal listed below). 

We're having company for brunch and dinner tomorrow, and the crust and stock will be the foundation for quiche and chicken pot pie. It'll be a day of comfort fall eating. 

I hope to use Sunday to get a few other things prepped for the week ahead -- maybe a casserole. I made two of those this past week. And, besides chicken pot pie, I was a bonafide casserole virgin. But after the two I made this week, I'm turning into a believer. Now, after having them for lunches a few days this week, I certainly will not return to those two recipes for a while, but I have a few others picked out in the future.

The week was quite chaotic, but the planning ahead worked out great. The menu included:

Pot roast made in the crock pot with
oven roasted potatoes, carrots and onions.

• Broccoli, Beef and Potato Hotdish (I followed the tip for the homemade shredded potato instead of freezer hashbrowns
• Pot Roast (Made in the crock pot!) 
• Spaghetti squash casserole (This was the one I was most excited about, and it did NOT disappoint. So easy to make and tasty, too!)
• BBQ Pulled Pork (made from the left over pot roast)
• Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce with Roasted Pear Salad

With all the prep of the day, grocery shopping, absentee voting and even sneaking in a workout, it's definitely time to push away from the computer, grab my glass of wine and snuggle with the babies and enjoy Friday family movie night.